I am sick! Head cold this time; sneezing like crazy, etc. No fun. Oh well. In between work and long bouts of being knocked out by cold meds I've been fairly productive on the crafty front. I'm making good progress on the two embroidery projects I've been working on for the past few weeks, and I started a new handbag (those of you who wanted to buy ( Read more... )

See this lovely 6th c. BC painting of Eris from ancient Athens, kindly provided to me by Wikipedia? I may have to stitch this...

P.S. ~ I think those crazy talons of hers must had inspired more than a few collections of Alexander McQueen heels :p


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Oh my dears...this day has been a long time coming! After four years of waiting for a set I could afford, I am finally the proud owner of a brand new (shipped in the original shrink wrap!) copy of the two-volume Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework, 1650-1850 by Betty Ring. I encountered these books the very first time I ( Read more... )

So in addition to trying to change up my work situation, tomorrow I will be submitting my financial aid application for the winter semester of 'Stitch and Surface' at Fleisher. This will be an evening session held in the library (the only class space available), and I was told all of the the projects will be book or text themed, so I really hope I ( Read more... )

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Not to give *too* much away, but once it arrives this book is going to factor prominently into an upcoming blackwork design I am pondering...


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Good evening, my dears. I am right in the midst of my 'work all night, sleep all day' Thanksgiving shift--I believe last night/this morning we worked about 10 1/2 hours--so I'm probably not going to be online much between now and next Tuesday-ish. However! I had to hop on for a moment while dinner is cooking to share the link to the entry my ( Read more... )

Blah! I've been trying to get back to regular LJ usage, or at least to respond to people's comments, but I've been feeling pretty craptacular lately, so it's hard to work up the energy for even that. I've got overnight shifts for the next two weeks, then a vacation, so hopefully with some time to relax and no customer interaction I'll do better ( Read more... )

Lovely piece to share with you! I found this bit of embroidery on Ruby Lane last month, and put it on layaway. It is, of course, an interpretation of Gainsborough's portrait of the actress Sarah Siddons. The dealer found it locally in a 'country sale' (which I assume is like a flea market?) in England, and dates it circa 1960.


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This w.i.p. is oh-so-close to being finished--I am about to go back in and add some embellishment with gold and silver metallic thread--but I am so pleased with the results of the straight black-on-white stitching that I wanted to share a photo of it as-is before I move on to the final step ( Read more... )